There is a recognized need for promptly providing appropriate notification to cognizant entities in the event of the occurrence of emergency or precautionary situations. The now familiar 911 telephone service has evolved in response to the emergency aspect of that need. Other alarm systems utilizing the public switched telephone network have been proposed. In general these provide a resident with a means for initiating an alarm signal which is delivered to designated telephone numbers. A notification to the 911 service may also be provided. Several such arrangements are described in detail in the assignee's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/697,380, filed May 9, 1991, in the name of Brian L. Carrier et al.